The Western Sahara is a territory on the northwestern
coast of Africa bordered by the Atlantic
Ocean. Its
neighbors are Morocco to the north, Algeria to the east,
and Mauritania to the south. Formerly known as
Spanish Sahara, this territory is claimed by Morocco.
A nationalist group, the Polisario Front, disputes this
claim.
Western Sahara is about the size of Colorado and the largest city is El Aaiun.
As part of the Sahara, this region is extremely dry, and is mostly covered with sand and gravel.
Over 382,000 people live in Western Sahara. Arabs and Berbers make up the majority of the population. Seasonally, pastoral nomads inhabit the Western Sahara. The predominantly Muslim population speaks Hassaniya Arabic or Moroccan Arabic.
The country is under the administrative control of Morocco, but its true leadership status has not been settled.
The monetary unit of Western Sahara is the Tala.
Web Sites
- CIA World Factbook
- The African Studies Center of the University of Pennsylvania
- BBC News
- IRIN Africa
- Western Sahara Online
Databases
Enter Western Sahara in these databases: